Obedient Wives Club urges women: Be like prostitutes

A group that supports polygamy and urges Muslim women to act like "prostitutes" in the bedroom has opened a branch in London.

The Obedient Wives Club, launched in Malaysia, is part of the Global Ikhwan group which claims polygamy will lead to a harmonious society. It urges women to "be submissive and keep their spouses happy in the bedroom".

Ikhwan vice-president Rohaya Mohamad has claimed women could "curb social ills" by serving their husbands "better than a first-class prostitute".

Members of the group, which is run from a Greenwich restaurant, will appear at a debate about polygamy in London tonight. They say they want to show Muslims in Britain that the practice can work. But Sara Khan, director of Muslim women's charity Inspire, said: "Polygamy is illegal under British law and such a club would reduce a woman to a mere prop in a man's life. Not only does it demean women, it is demeaning to men too and the institution of marriage."

The Wives Club already has branches in Indonesia, Singapore and Australia. Founder Mohd Ali said there were "misconceptions" about polygamy: "We want to share our experience to show it can work. One of the problems in Malaysia [was] there are men who might keep a mistress or go with someone else because they don't have a satisfactory married life."

The debate, hosted by Islamic Circles, is at 6.30pm at Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square WC1R.